U.S. stocks end sharply lower on earnings, subprime jitters

NickGodt

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing nearly 150 points, with investor enthusiasm hit right at the outset of earnings season by lowered forecasts from Home Depot and Sears and by new jitters about the housing market. The Dow industrials was down 148 points at 13,501 at the unofficial 4 p.m. close. The S&P 500 index dropped 21 points to 1,510, while the Nasdaq Composite
COMP, +0.50%
fell 30 points to 2,639. Concerns about housing and credit markets were revived by poor results from DR Horton Inc.
DHI, -2.14%
and possible rating action from Standard & Poor's on subprime mortgages. Crude oil prices briefly topping $73 a barrel added to the market's nervousness. A speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, meanwhile, failed to shed light on the central bank's plans for interest rates.

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